Bedtime story
by Chotsu
Summary: While aspiring to be a god, you must remember no human can be a god.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own "Miraculous: tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir", nor any of its characters. The cover image is mine.

There are parts in which I was vague… well, I did it purposely. But, if you are curious or you have questions, just ask!

And, if you see typing or grammar errors, please, let me know! I'll do my best to correct them.

At last, for the pet names you'll find down there, here are the translations (feel free to tell me if they are wrong):

Mon minou = my kitty  
Mon chou = my treasure (but I guess in English is more used as "sweetheart")  
Ma pouce = my flea  
Mon cœur = my heart

* * *

 _"Please!" wailed the child "I want to play some more, I'm not sleepy yet!"_

 _The woman humbly giggled, watching her son trying to wiggle out of the blankets. When he succeeded, she caught him in mid-air before he could touch the floor.  
_ _A third person watched, lightly smiling, as she covered him up once again, giggling some more in front of the displeased expression on her child's face._

 _"What about I tell you a story?" asked the blonde woman, gently caressing his hair._

 _The child's face lightened up… He was such a bundle of joy._

 _"A story?"_

 _"Yes_ mon minou _." she smiled "What kind of story do you want?"_

 _The father shook feebly his head as his son bounced up in excitement._

 _"An adventure story! With- with heroes, and gods, and- and- and adventures!"_

 _The woman rapidly glanced toward her husband, smiling, inviting him to sit with her on their son's bed, to which he happily obliged._

 _"I have just the right story for you!" she teased "Once upon a time there was a man-"_

 _"Was his name Adrien?" interrupted the kid, bright green eyes staring up at his mother._

 _"I'm sorry_ mon chou _, his name wasn't Adrien, it was…" she looked playfully to her husband "Gabriel."_

* * *

Silence was loud in his ears.  
Everything was still in the room. He was still. The air was still. Even time itself was still. Everything was motionless, dust everywhere. Everything, everywhere… still. Immobility. Silence. Darkness.  
Darkness swallowed him whole, a long time ago. Darkness kept on swallow anything, from that day onward. It swallowed his heart, and now his heart was darkness itself. It was terrifying.  
The kind of fright that petrify, that leaves you empty. The kind of fright that makes your limbs heavy, so heavy you can't move them, not even an inch – that leaves you without voice. That kind of fright that leaves you devoid of everything but fright itself. And you want help. You need it, you crave it. You try to search for it but you're surrounded by pitch black and all you see is nothing.  
And so you stay there, in the silence, in the immobility, alone and lonely.  
Then one day help arrives but it's not the help you want. There's only one thing that can erase the darkness, you realize, that can take away the dust with a breath, that can be so loud to overpower the silence.

For Gabriel, this thing was a person. A dear person. One that wasn't alive anymore. And as soon as he comprehended that she wasn't going to help him, he decided he would help himself.  
He accepted his fear. He grew used to the silence. He no more shook off the dust covering him. He began to produce darkness.  
He saw nothing. Time was still. Dust covered all.  
The only light he could see was from his memories; in the present there was nothing to be happy for.  
Every memory was shiny, was light, because she was there, his sun.  
Then she left and it all stopped.  
He didn't see his son grow up, he felt as if he was still there, smiling, eyes shining, short, hyperactive and _still_. He felt his wife there, patient, gentle, teasing, beautiful and _still_. Dust hovered on them, time only waiting to restart. So, this became his purpose.

And now, he had the power to make it happen.

* * *

 _"Gabriel was a farmer and lived with his wife and only son-"_

 _"Was his son's name Adrien?" interrupted once again the child, a smile stretching from side to side on his face. His mother openly laughed, holding her husband's hand tightly and causing him to flinch. Noticing this, the kid watched his father questioningly._

 _"Yes, his name was Adrien." the kid smiled again, giving his full attention to his mother._

 _"One day, Gabriel had to go to the city and took little Adrien with him, leaving his wife at home. But suddenly black scary clouds covered the whole sky. A hailstorm settled and rock-sized hailstones broke all the windows of the little house. A strong wind entered and all their furniture flew between the four walls. In that mess, something hit the woman straight in the head and she fell unconscious. What Gabriel and his son found when they got home was a living nightmare."_

 _"Did Adrien's mommy die?!" asked frantically the kid, eyes already tearing up._

 _Gabriel elbowed gently his wife, urging her to change the course of the story._

 _"No! Of course not_ ma pouce _! But she sure seemed dead…" she awkwardly laughed "She was… sleeping. Yes, sleeping! But she couldn't wake up anymore."_

 _"Oh… and what did they do?"_

 _"Gabriel prayed to the gods, days and nights, for his wife to wake up. The gods, hearing his prayers, felt extremely guilty for they were the ones that accidentally caused the storm. For this reason they created two jewels: the jewel of creation and destruction, that together gave one holder unimaginable powers.  
_ _But gods are very very prideful and arrogant, they would never admit they did something wrong. So they compromised: they sent a messenger to inform him of the existence of these magical jewels and that he shall retrieve them to wake up his loved one._

 _And so, Gabriel's and Adrien's journey began…"_

* * *

Gabriel was able to love, a long time ago.

He always was an introvert. He always was cold. Brooding. Apathetic. During his adolescence he even thought he wasn't worthy to love and to be loved back by someone. But then she came along, with her big heart and radiant personality. She was his _sun_ and with her arrival, whiteness finally painted his darkened soil. She was the one who taught him how to love, and he loved her strongly. She also loved him, with the same passion as the sun shines, with the same tenderness as a butterfly leaning on a flower.  
She was his _sun_ and he was nothing but a _moon_. A sad little moon, incapable to glow on its own but rotating only in function of its sun, shining only when looking at it.  
Then something happened and from their love their _little star_ was born.  
He was the copy of his wife and for that he was glad: the new addiction to the family was cheerful as his mother, always smiling, delicate as butterfly's wings. And it was so strange to love two people at the same time for him, but it was… so simple. He couldn't even fathom the idea not to love one of them.  
But one day, out of the blue, his sun ceased to shine and his little star wasn't bright enough to enlighten him; his soil turned black once again and layers of dust covered everything. He not only lost her love, but also his ability to.  
Then his mind would hover to that time, to that story his wife told their son. And it was impossible, he knew it was… but he couldn't stop his mind from fantasizing.  
Except one day a purple butterfly told him it was indeed possible.  
He wanted that power in order to revive his wife. So that his sun could shine again and the little star could grow to be the sun it was born to be.  
But power is dangerous, whether you have it or not.  
He would have done _anything_ within his possibilities to have that love back.  
And that was the beginning of Gabriel's fall.

"M. Agreste, we're going to be late-"  
"I won't come."  
The glare his assistant reserved him was glacial.  
It wasn't like he felt nothing: his heart was from a long time a pile of shreds, but every one of them crumbled becoming little particles of dust minute by minute. It was a familiar sorrow, one he had to get used to in the years of darkness he was forced to survive through. It was almost unbearable. The only thing that suppressed the impulse to end it himself was his ultimate purpose.

Everything that happened – everything he did, he did it to arrive exactly to that moment.  
Because he was a good husband but a despicable father.  
But it didn't matter now: what happened, happened.  
What mattered was, he could change that.  
He had the power to.

From the window of his studio he saw the entirety of his staff leaving the mansion. In the first row, Nathalie stood out impeccably perfect as always, leading the people toward the vehicles. He could see the grief in every slumped man and every crying woman, but she stood tall, beautiful, strong. Nevertheless, she was not a robot and, maybe, he was the only one living person in the world who could see clearly the misery attached to her soul.  
She was an excellent worker, though he never knew her well enough to say she was an excellent woman. Adrien seemed to love her dearly, and it was only for this reason he tolerated the unprofessional and outrageous behaviour she adopted lately in his regards. Also a little part of him, the only little conscience left, thought he deserved it. He deserved a lot more worse, actually, but no one else dared to even glance at him the wrong way if not his personal assistant.

Watching them leave, he took a deep breath.

He was alone in the mansion.

Step after step, the sound echoed in the empty corridors; his posture straight, his hair impeccable, his face impenetrable as steel.

He did horrible deeds in the last year, that was the truth… and his heart bled every time he thought about them. But it was necessary so he could obtain the power.

He would pay for his sins one day, he knew it and accepted it. No way to escape from his destiny. He didn't know if hell existed but, if it did not, it was now surely created to embrace him after his passing. He didn't mind an eternity of damnation, really: it was the least if in return he would have his family back together again.

A dark room opened wide in front of him, a musty stench invaded his nostrils.  
He entered, closing the door behind himself, leaving the room completely black. His memory took him in the middle and, as if by magic, a spiral window opened in front of him causing the last rays of the setting sun brighten the room. The sudden light scared the resting population of white butterflies who flew randomly all around him. Little particles of dust hovered lazily in the air, glittering in the light.  
Gabriel looked at the sight Paris had to offer.  
He felt a strange feeling of oppression observing the terse sky turning orange minute by minute and the sun gradually disappearing behind the horizon. It was a beautiful day of spring, sunny, not even a cloud wondered that day. And he wasn't sure if it was a beautiful day because whatever force that made the world go round was completely disinterested in Gabriel's grief or because it approved of what was going to happen anytime soon.  
He sighed.  
It was time to begin.

He took from one of his pocket a light purple brooch, then wore it for the very last time. As usual Nooro appeared in front of him, big eyes already glistening, knowing fully well what was happening.  
"You served me well…" said Gabriel. For the first time, on his face found its way a melancholic little smile.  
Seeing this, fat tears escaped the kwami's eyes.  
"Gabriel please! Don't do it! It won't chan-"  
"Thank you."  
Calmly, he removed the papillon brooch and the butterfly kwami disappeared.  
Nooro fulfilled his purpose, he wasn't needed anymore.  
It was a goodbye.  
His grip on the purple little thing tightened.  
"For all the things I made you do… I'm sorry."

Placing the accessory back in his pocket, he took two jewels from the other one: a ring and a pair of earrings.  
He didn't want to think about what he did to achieve them.  
He rapidly put them on. In front of him appeared two little creatures, two kwamis. They were just like his Nooro, but each of them possessed features of the animal they were linked to. But they weren't as cheerful as Nooro was when he first was awakened: they were sad, disheartened, surrendered. Not that he could expect any better giving what he did to their last holders.

"I believe you are Tikki and Plagg, bearers of the powers of creation and destruction."

The cat-alike kwami hissed in his direction, irate. It was the red one to answer him with all the calm she could gather.

"You're right, master."

The man nodded.

"How could you call him master?! After all he did to-"

"Plagg." Tikki said authoritative "Despite everything he did, he is the one who awakened us once more. He is wearing our jewels. By contract, he is our new master, whether we like it or not."

"It's not fair…" murmured Plagg, trembling in fury.

"I know." replied apathetic his companion.

Gabriel stood there, observing the exchange. Who was he to interfere and deny the words of the cat? After all, he was right.

Suddenly, a black irate bulb was in front of him.

"Do you even realize what you did back there?! He was your son! He loved you! You have no idea how much he suffered because of you! I was there when he realized it was you all this time! I was there when you left him d-"

"That's enough." thundered the man, effectively silencing the kwami "It was not a simple choice. I evaluated every pros and cons and did what I deemed right."

Tikki and Plagg observed him with mouth agape, they couldn't believe their ears.

"W-what do you mean…? Are you listening to yourself?! He was you son, not a damn business! He loved you so much and yet you… did you at least love him?!""

"I still do, dearly."

"Are you even human…?" whispered Tikki.

Silence invaded the room, there was no answer.  
As Gabriel closed his eyes inhaling, Tikki choose to move closer to Plagg. She embraced him, leaving gentle strokes on the back of his head. She could feel his little body tremble against hers, he was holding back the tears for he didn't want to give Gabriel the satisfaction to see him cry. She highly doubted their new master cared about them, but either way Plagg was Plagg: different kwami different reaction. Who was she to judge? After all, she didn't feel like crying, even though their previous holders in the end shared the same fate.

Opening his eyes, Gabriel spoke once again.

"As I said, I love my son. It was the most advantageous choice. I am not a villain, of this I'm sure: this power you will give me… I'll use it for one and one thing alone."

He watched as they broke their embrace to look at him, awaiting for orders.

"Tikki, Plagg, _transformez-moi_."

He didn't feel the power flow through his veins as he expected.  
He had it, of this he was sure, and it was indeed strong, but it was not untameable, it was not scary. It was not as addicting as he thought it would be. He felt relaxed, calm. Gabriel knew he now had the power of creation and destruction, he knew he would be capable of everything possible and impossible in the universe, still… it was a certainty that it didn't affect his body at all. No adrenaline. No anxiety. No itchiness of sorts. As if the only proof he had that power was the mystical suit wrapped around him. It was kind of a let-down.  
But what was really important right that moment was: he had the power and there was no way for anyone to take it away.

Gabriel didn't ask the kwamis to explain how to use it, nor did they tell him on their own initiative, but he could see now there was no need.  
With the power came knowledge: he knew everything. _Everything_.  
What he now had to do was to search in the midst of all that knowledge for that only little information.  
But, after all, Gabriel Agreste was nothing but a human. A little sad human, driven by his own selfish emotions, bound to fail in order to learn.  
So, searching and searching around, he found the little information he craved with all his being, discarding every other big information all around it.  
It was a weird sensation: it wasn't like being Hawkmoth, Ladybug or Chat Noir, where they had to vocally call the name of their powers in order to unleash it. He now, as the most powerful being in the Universe, only had to raise his hand and concentrate for a little while.  
He expected lights, thunders, storms, a little apocalypse even… but it happened as if it was the most simple, the most ridiculous thing in the world: under his hand, on the dusty floor, were two bodies laying next to each other.  
Their shiny blond hair mixed with one another, glistening in the sunset light. Peaceful as he remembered them. Beautiful as he last saw them.

And now he could feel it: his heart beating faster and faster, now woken up from his hibernation, blood bursting in his veins, harder and harder. His breath laboured, he ate air greedily, it was never enough. Eyes stinging, reddening, tearing. Hands itching, craving their touch, craving to touch them.  
He fell on his knees, dumbly.

He did it.

His wife, his son.

They were there, with him.

He revived them.

For the first time in a very long time, Gabriel Agreste cried in joy.

Smiled in joy.

Now, he only had to wait for them to wake up.

* * *

 _"In the end, thanks to Adrien's and the little girl's powers, Gabriel's wife woke up and they lived happily ever after."_

 _The woman watched in awe as her son finally drifted off to sleep, hugging his peacock plushie and sucking his thumb. He was a heavenly vision she would never tire of._

 _Suddenly, she felt something laying on her back. Her head turning, she smiled once more seeing as Gabriel too fell asleep against her.  
_ _Quietly not to wake up her precious boys, she stood and managed to drag her husband up with her. She was a strong woman so it woudn't have been a problem to take him to their room carrying him bridal style, but luckily enough, in his drowsiness, he managed to walk on his own.  
_ _Once she laid him on their bed, she went to change her clothes. Only then she heard him mumble. Smiling playfully, she climbed on the bed and laid right on him. Seeing as he didn't open his eyes, she closed his nostrils between her fingers. It did the trick and Gabriel woke up gasping for air._

 _"Why did you?!" he whispered, moving frantically his eyes expecting to be in Adrien's bedroom._

 _She giggled quietly "Well… you were sleeping so peacefully that I had to wake you up!"_

 _He heavily sighed, unamused. She surely behaved like a cat sometimes: he hoped Adrien didn't inherit that gene._

 _"Anyway… when did we wind up in our bedroom?"_

 _"Five… maybe ten minutes ago. Do you realize great Gabriel Agreste fell asleep hearing a child story?"_

 _"It's not my fault you have a soporific voice." he sighed once again._

 _"Maybe you meant_ soothing _."_

 _"I meant_ soporific _."_

 _She giggled and he, in all his weariness, smiled slightly._

 _"By the way, how did you came up with that story? I never heard something like that…" he slurred, already sleepy._

 _She smiled fondly, diverting her eyes and seeing what only she could._

 _"A dear friend told me, sometimes ago." she said "But I kind of modified it. You know, for Adrien. It has a more dark imprint…" then, almost shyly, she added "Would you like to hear it?"_

* * *

Minute by minute, time passed by. Gabriel felt it while stroking his wife's blond hair.  
Her sun-kissed skin was rosy, warm, lively. Her wavy hair was silk between his fingers. Her breaths were steady, calm… she was sleeping. She was _alive_. And now Gabriel too was alive.  
Adrien was laying near his mother, sleeping and breathing.  
The man wanted to take his son in his arms and hold him tightly, but truth was he wasn't brave enough: thanks to the Ultimate Power, now his precious persons were there once again with him, but in order to obtain it… what he did to snatch away the power of creation and destruction from their rightful bearer was… just…

 _Too much._  
Even he could see it.

So he stayed there, caressing his wife while contemplating his son's figure.

Time ticked by, the sun already disappeared beyond the horizon, its light vanishing second by second, darkening the sky.

He knew they were alive and safe now; nevertheless, he was getting impatient.  
Ever so gently, he touched the woman's cheek.

"Open your eyes, _mon cœur_ … for me."

There was not sparks of magic, but he could feel a feeble jolt run through his system, down his arm only to disappear at the tip of his fingers in contact with his wife's skin. It was weak, very weak; the only reason he could feel it was because in the middle of silence and darkness it was unexpected.  
Then, he could see olive-green eyes, and he thought sun was shining again, rising only for him.  
Just like hot and sticky honey, hope enveloped the little particles of dust that were his heart and glued them, shaping it once again to its original form.  
And it was warm, pleasant. Heat radiating off his chest for the first time in a very long time.  
He smiled. He really smiled.  
She was staring right back at _him_!  
It still was unbelievable.

"D-do…. Do you re-remember m-me…?"

He was a stuttering mess – he never was – but he could not bring himself to be embarrassed about it… because she and his son were alive, and everything else lost all importance.

"Finally… I… I m-missed you so m-much…!"

A hiccup escaped his control and, at last, tears formed in his eyes threatening to fall.  
He hugged her with all his might. Now sure she was living once again, no more afraid to lose her another time.  
Darkness covered the sky as he finished to cry. No more able to lose himself in the depth of her green-olive eyes, he didn't need to see them to know she was awake.  
But now, in the silence, in the calm, he could sense something wasn't right.  
Her eyes were wide open, watching him – or so he thought. Her body was limp against his own, just as a body without life was, but he clearly felt her chest moving up and down; he heard her breathing. Her skin was warm, flushed, her heart was beating.

" _Mon cœur_ …" he begun tentatively "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him. She didn't even try.  
Her iris stood still, pointed to his own, not moving an inch, watching him but not really seeing him.  
He waited, and waited. Then, he waited some more… only to gain nothing.  
Alarmed, Gabriel raised his gaze toward his son, noticing he, too, was breathing but not moving. Contrary to the woman enveloped in his embrace, his green eyes were still closed.  
He gaped then, switching between the still forms of his wife and son.

Gently laying her down, he crawled toward his boy. Gabriel let a hand roam though his blond tresses, but with increasing worry he saw how the gesture didn't bring any effect.  
He shook him lightly initially, but then his grip on his son's shoulder tightened and the shake grew in strength. His blond head went up and down, up and down with every stroke. Sometimes it brushed the hard floor, sometimes Gabriel, in his restlessness, lost his grasp making it collide to the ground. And this only worried him more because even though it was accidental, it would have made Adrien hurt. And yet, his son didn't react in any way.

Gabriel could feel his healed heart risking an explosion with every beat.

"What… what's happening?!" he asked to no one in particular. And no one answered: not his still wife, not his still son, not the colony of resting butterflies, not the deepening darkness. Only silence replied with his same question, repeating it within the four walls, in an echo that seeped through his very soul.

"Adrien!" he called again "Talk to me!"

As before, Gabriel felt a little bit of magic flow through his veins down to his hands. Not even a minute after, something that made his blood run cold happened: Adrien's lips parted only a little, and from his throat, a deep sound came out.  
His eyes closed, his tongue tied, only his tonsils vibrating.  
Gabriel always thought his son had a marvellous and seductive voice, but this… this was earsplitting. It did not vary in intensity… it was low and steady. The kind of sound that makes your hair stand still, unnatural, dreadful.  
Listening to it was painful to Gabriel, painful and so frightening.  
He stumbled away, an eerie kind of panic settling in his heart. Darkness around him and silence broken by his son's voice and his laboured breaths.

 _Stop it… stop it!  
_ The lump in his throat prevented him to voice his mind, only bringing him to stumbling on his own words like the idiot he was starting to think he was. Tears of horror begun to prick at his eyes as hopelessness enveloped him in a tight grip.  
He didn't know what to do and even if he knew, he wouldn't have the strength needed.  
Then, he realised he said something. He didn't know what, he didn't remember… but what he did remember was that he parted his lips and moved them creating different shapes. He realised Adrien stopped, but some way, his mind kept replaying that horrific sound all over again.  
From his place on the floor, Gabriel thought: what was happening? Why was it happening? How could he fix it?  
He examined in his head every scene, every word. He replayed the whole thing all over again, desperately trying to find a solution.

Then, a crippling awareness slowly fell over him as it nearly left him without air.

He hoped he was dreaming. He hoped it was a nightmare. He even hoped it was a joke because all good games come to an end, right? And a joke was supposed to be that kind of game, right? Even if it was downright cruel and not funny at all… right?  
From his place on the ground, he watched the unmoving bodies, his vision blurry from the tears he refused to shed. He opened his mouth, only a whisper came out.  
He had to know.

"Stand up."

On the beginning, nothing happened. Then… his eyes caught a little movement from his wife, and a minute later he saw it as clear as day as his son and wife struggled to stand up, just as he ordered.  
The woman's green eyes were open and staring at him, unblinkingly, while the boy's were still closed.  
His voice shaking with barely repressed fear, Gabriel spoke again "Adrien, open your eyes."  
As he watched his son uncover his forest-green eyes, the man felt his mended heart crumble once again in little particle of dust, with a slowness almost imperceptible.  
Their eyes were not as he remembered them, they no more were mirroring their souls. They were just hollow: little bulbs of white glass, shiny iris of emerald. Two pairs so different from one another, yet so similar in expressing once their emotions, and now the lack of.

A deafening silence spread around the room.

Then, a sob escaped his mouth and suddenly, every last glimmer of hope he had crushed down in pieces.

He released his transformation and as he did so, he saw the bodies of his wife and son collapse on the ground, a deaf sound following their fall: limbs spread out in every direction, necks bended painfully, their eyes closed again, and not even a moan left their lips.  
Plagg and Tikki appeared between himself and the rest of his family.  
As he mumbled incoherently, the kwamis kept watching him, unafraid, unfeeling, awaiting.  
After what seemed a while, Plagg made something akin to a low meow, little glowing eyes filling with disgust. He scoffed, turning his back to his supposed master, and went to the body of his previous one – his favourite. He floated over him, not really sure where to sat. He decided to stay in the air, watching this exact replica of his kitten, sadness and fury overtaking his soul. When he tried to touch those blond locks, he found himself retracting away, hissing toward an enraged standing Gabriel.

"Don't… don't you dare touch him, you monster!"

It was quite ironic how he choose exactly those words… he almost felt stupid.

"Am I really the monster, here, _master_?! Look around you, look at you own memories and your own doings, _master_! Now answer me: who's the real monster?!" this time Tikki didn't stop him, she didn't want to. What she really wanted was her Ladybug, her chosen… and wanted nothing but _hell_ for the one who took her away.

"You are! You did this, all of this! You are the only responsible! You chose to sacrifice their lives, master, and look: here's your family. Are you happy now?!"

Gabriel was fuming. What his kwami said was true but it was too painful to admit it. Instead, he decided to bury all those weak emotions and guiltiness under layers and layers of rage.

"Stop it right now!" he thundered "You have no right to say this to me! _I am_ your master, don't you dare disrespect me!"

Growling, he directed his attention toward the red kwami, still looking at him with the same hollow eyes of her previous holder the day he…

A cry of frustration escaped him as he grasped Tikki's tiny body, squeezing hard. Having her in his hand, at his mercy, gave him a sense of omnipotence he could not quite describe… not even when he was transformed he felt that power.  
He squeezed and squeezed.  
He wanted to take away her air, he wanted to see her asking for forgiveness because the real culprits were Tikki and Plagg and the powers they granted. The powers that were supposed to make everything possible. The powers he gave his all away for. But she didn't seem fazed at all; her apathetic face still intact.

Indeed, he kept on trying. Indeed, she kept on living.

He fell on his knees, hard, the kwami still clutched in his hands, and Plagg not giving them an inch of his attention, too focused on the limp form of Adrien.  
Bored, Tikki fazed through his grasp, earning a frustrated moan from her master.  
He didn't realize it himself but his red kwami could see so clearly as big tears dropped from his eyes down his cheeks and onto the floor. Not even pity could be read on her face.

Between his wailings and moans, he managed a soft whimper, broken by his quivering voice.

"Why…?"

It didn't draw the attention of Plagg, still too absorbed in stroking Adrien's tresses, yet Tikki didn't answer him, waiting for Gabriel to elaborate.

"I thought… I thought it was possible, with your powers… I thought they granted all! That everything was possible! That I could…!"

"That you could be a god?"

Not daring to look in her eyes, he nodded.

It was pathetic.  
 _He_ was pathetic.

"You thought this, master, but you forgot something."

Tikki decided to give him a moment to recollect his control so he could follow her in the speech she was about to do.

"What, what did I forgot? Why didn't it work?" he asked, now staring straight at her.

"Because you're human, _Gabriel_. And no human can be a god."

He gaped then, not believing her words.

"But… your powers…?!"

"We were created by gods, and we have godlike powers." she sullenly clarified "We can be considered as gods… but we are not. No human and no kwami can be put on the same level as gods. After all, gods would never create something more powerful of them. They are too prideful and arrogant."

 _Gods are too prideful ad arrogant._

His head began to throb painfully and he struggled to hear what else Tikki had to say.

"We can do many thing, but we are not omnipotent. What you tried to do – revive your family – was possible only so far: you can create their bodies from nothingness, you can give them life… you can make them do everything you want as long as you order them to. But they are empty bodies, with no will of their own, with no soul. And this is not something you can simply create for them."

Now, her apathetic expression turned to something else, drawing on her face an angry sneer and colouring her eyes with sheer loathing.

"You were a father… yet you took the life of your son for granted. I know what you had in mind, and now you lost everything."

* * *

 _She did everything that was in her power to keep her husband awake. She really wanted to share that story._

 _"So… first of all, the wife died."_

 _"I would have never imagined it." he mumbled, his eyes still closed._

 _"Shush! Let me explain!" she hit him jokingly "She died because gods were quarrelling over shallow reasons. She wasn't destined to die and leave her son and husband alone… she was needed. Hence, they created the jewels. But they were not simple jewels, not like we think them to be. They were something precious, something unparalleled and too important to be bought.  
_ _But gods, as prideful and arrogant as they are, would never create something with a power stronger than their own: in short, they made sure the jewels could do many things, but not everything._

 _He was a good man – Gabriel, I mean – but the quest to find them changed him, corrupted him to the core. He searched them all over the world, he did despicable things to collect them, only to be left day by day with more darkness spreading within him.  
_ _Then, one day he knew exactly what to search for: gods chose specifically two people to bear the greatness of the jewels, so all he had to do was find them and steal the jewels from them. But he never imagined in what form the jewels were in.  
_

 _The first bearer was a little girl with no name. Despite all misfortunes that happened to her, she was always happy, always finding a silver lining. But she was a poor orphan, she barely had a rag to call clothe, so of course she didn't have any jewel on her. But Gabriel was sent to her by the god's messenger itself, so it had to be her. So, with nothing in mind but his own profit, he asked her to become part of their family.  
_ _As the journey continued, something happened: one day the children were in a dangerous situation and, as Gabriel wasn't able to do anything to save them, he saw a blinding light covering their two forms. When they emerged once again, no change was perceived. But then, his son attacked the bandits that kidnapped them with a hand covered in a black cloud and the little girl saved Gabriel and then managed to make everything turn back to normal. That was the day Gabriel learned his son was the second bearer._

 _He searched for the jewels himself, not even an inch of their body was spared. He asked them every day and every night where they hid them. He went all crazy, and the poor children cried every moment. They did not understand why their father was behaving like that, they had no recollection of what happened at all.  
_ _Day by day the situation worsened. Gabriel's mind crumbled to dust, while the children misery became a constant in their lives._

 _Then, for the third and last time, the god's messenger appeared and said:_ There's no way for you to steal the powers from their rightful bearers. Nor you can force your will on them. The only way for you to have the powers you so much crave would be for your children to refuse them… and not even then you'd be sure they'd come to you. Quench your desire, human, for in this condition you won't ever be able to bear such powers.  
 _But Gabriel was sure there was another way: they couldn't reject what they didn't know was in their possession, but… what about steal them away when the holders were not around?_

 _He didn't sleep, he didn't eat. He racked his brain every moment pondering about the possibility and the different solutions. But sleep-deprived, starved and insane are a lethal combination, and finally Gabriel found the loophole._

 _He decided to try; he didn't even considered failure… he was sure of a success: the pain, the sins, it would be all worth in the end because… it wasn't the end, right? What about a little suffering now? With the jewels in his hands he would be able to right all his wrongs, even if it meant to be stained for life._

I am not evil _he said_ I'm a good man _. He repeated it as a mantra while he killed the little girl._ Don't worry _he said_ everything is going to be alright _when it was his son's turn._

 _As his madness predicted, with their murders, he obtained what he desired: from their limp bodies two light orbs rose in the air, shaping in front of his eyes. Two black earring from the girl's chest, and a white ring from his son's._

 _And so, he succeeded, he stole them._

 _He wore the jewels: he was determined to make them all live again. After all, it was why he forced himself to do such a heinous act: because it was in his power._

 _So he recreated their bodies: his wife, his son, his adopted daughter. And indeed life flew through their veins, but… they laid there, sleeping, never waking up. Forever."_

* * *

He wept for he didn't know how long. He didn't saw the sun rising nor the moon setting. He stood there days and nights, days and nights.  
The gravity of his action befalling on him lightly like the layers of dust covering the bodies of his family.

A pair of earrings, a ring and a brooch scattered on the floor, forsaken.

* * *

 _"Are you already sleeping?" she whispered, as she stared lovingly at her husband breathing deeply under her._

 _She caressed his cheek with such a tenderness she only reserved for their lovely son._

 _"This story was about how you can't change the past and to always take care about what you're left with… and you didn't even hear me finish it!?" she sighed, amused "I wanted to make Adrien understand this but…" she quietly giggled "I guess he's too little for such a dark story."_

 _She let her head fall on his chest gently, as she pulled his sleeping husband in a hug._

 _"We're just lucky the real Gabriel – my Gabriel – is better than the one of the story, aren't we? You're so much stronger than this…"_

 _She reached for the light switch on the wall next to the bed._

 _"Goodnight,_ mon cœur _."_


End file.
